Life and thoughts of Mark Lau Tin Wai

be-that-simpler

Instagram

These recent day I have been dealing with my instagram a lot, and I found this post, from my friend bendit chan:

Actually becoming a maths person is kinda hard. Besides there are infinitely many competitions waiting you, we have essays and lot of things to learn. Also we always heard,’You have got a 100 then don’t speak!’,’You actually know it already!’. But how many work we’ve made not in front of the crown? ~Bethatsimplr

“Bethatsimplr” is the name of his instagram. Also the title of this blog post.

Contestant, Olympian and ‘University’ student

So now, three big subject in mathematics. The first thing is when you realize you are really interested in math, and want to do more and more math. The first choice for you is taking part in MATHCOUNTS, AMC… etc. these are all short answer contest. Maybe one hour to solve approximately 20 questions. And then you say, these sort of math is way too easy, I want more chocolate cake, please! Hence you go in AIME, USAMO… the short answer become a long proof writing, you need 4 hours and 30 minutes instead of 1 hour. You need to focus for a long time. And you finally won (or lost) in some big competition. And time tell you to go to a university. The thing is you still love math, and then you apply math as your major. You faced a different scent of math, finding that you learned algebra in secondary school is not that algebra in university, that geometry is not geometry you learned from Olympiad. But you still love math. And you finally get graduate and got a Ph.D. Becoming a lecturer… Everyone seemed bright.

Question, What is probability that it happens in your math career, given that the first thing underlined?(Notice I don’t need you have any medals in math Olympiad)

The answer is very small. It’s because Contest, Olympiad and University math are three completely different thing. That’s mean if you suck on one subject, that’s no meaning that you would bad on the two others. And if you very good at a subject, no means that you would also good at others. And then god gave you 6 years, and your objective is to learn the three subjects well. Because the funniest thing is, an vital thing that university look at is your olympiad result, but none of your performance of your university math nor contests.

That’s why it’s really worth doing, right?

It’s completely understandable that what my friend complaint about. Who have thought that math is simply not the case? 6 years for 3 subject? The ambitious goal is not easily achievable to everyone. And the worse case is, you failed at a subject, and your love of math becomes hatred. All we can say is ‘Oh, I am really sorry.’, that’s all. Loads of thing awaits, want more chocolate cake? here’s more… Want to eat all chocolate cake? This goal is not achievable. All that’s remain is, you must got in university math, and your name known to public, if and only if you good at university math, but not Olympiad and contests.

I can extend his complaint, it’s really funny saying out but it’s turn out not. Our math career is harder than others academic career. If you are a doctor, just work hard in your university, until you get a job, and everyone neatly done. If you are a businessman, you have cars, money, just get some girls. And what’s our case? We get a PhD. But where do we go, the local university don’t have much places for you applying a job of professors. Hey there, there is a job way from Canada… And you have no choices. The more frustrating thing is, your math class is always 1:99 boys. Do you sure you can get yourself a girlfriend? The complaint list is too long…

Invariants

In mathematics, an invariant is a property, held by a class of mathematical objects, which remains unchanged when transformations of a certain type are applied to the objects. The particular class of objects and type of transformations are usually indicated by the context in which the term is used. For example, the area of a triangle is an invariant with respect to isometries of the Euclidean plane. The phrases “invariant under” and “invariant to” a transformation are both used. More generally, an invariant with respect to an equivalence relation is a property that is constant on each equivalence class.

Or we just throw out the list first, and I have a lovely quote:

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

Maya Angelou

We are not god, right? I always asked is, if god follow our complaint, what the world becomes, not actually as bright as we usually think. Because its lack of the taste of adventure. If you do maths, all you need is actually hardworking and your stand against failure, Why not design your secondary math life as minecraft? At last we all face Enderdragon. All you got is you.It’s completely reasonable why god design the math life-like that. When you finally get yourself a senior professor, or a field medalist. Anything worth suffered. You finally get an equal to equal exchange.

Hence my point is, look at your invariants. Look at your advantages, because they are your very own weapons, designed the correct usage of them, because when you got to heaven, you measure your success. From you are talented, and you got a medal, and then finally retired. Maybe you have a wife, maybe you met her on a math competition? or a math class? Or you both work together? You have to face the wave that may lead a disaster. In this real world, lots of adventure awaits. So a result you can deduce is, there are always danger in life, no flat life you got, the proof, trivial, because god ( or even I) won’t let it happens.